St. Mary Catholic Parish

Everything we have is a gift! The Father entrusts His gifts to us in the measure we are capable of receiving them. If we wish to receive greater gifts from God, we need to prove ourselves trustworthy and capable of receiving them. I think of Jesus words in John 17:24, "Father, they are Your gift to Me" which reminds me that people are the gifts whom God entrusts to us. As every spouse and parent understands, the entrustment of persons is an exceptional gift that calls forth the great responsibility of love.

This weekend, we hear the story of the Prodigal Son, which may be Jesus' most profound parable. The word prodigal means excessively wasteful. It's easy to read this parable only through the lens of the wasteful extravagance of the younger son. Going deeper, we may see that the older son was also prodigal, in the sense that he wasted so much time at home without ever really drawing close to his father in his heart. What I believe Jesus draws out at the deepest level is the prodigality of the father who lavishly immerses both of his sons in the richness of his mercy.